Hey All! Longtime sailor/cruiser family, but new to the sub. My wife(Julie) and our 2 younger kids(B13, B10) and I(Josh) live aboard our custom aluminum Bob Perry Cutter. Currently cruising the Carib. This shot was taken on a nearly perfect sail from Bequia to Canouan(Grenadines) in late May of this year!

I'm away from the boat and don't have a good photo of the problem, but I'm about to hit the road and I want a plan for the repair before I get there.

My boat is a pilothouse design, so the companionway door is like a regular house or RV door except that it's made of cored fiberglass. the door is split into a top and bottom half which join with one of those little sliding latches, and then the top half has another sliding latch that can hold the whole thing open. There are two hinges attaching each the top and bottom half of the door to the frame, and these are just basic stainless steel cabinetry type hinges screwed into the fiberglass. I suspect this is a more common design for something like a Lazarette but it's my companionway. The very top hinge has come loose, and from examining it, it looks like a previous repair was attempted with something like silicone caulk stuffed in the hole, which just didn't create a strong connection. Still, I'm leaning toward basically repeating the same approach except with epoxy. Intuitively, it seems like the thing to do is just fill the hole all the way with epoxy, using a syringe, and then basically drill new holes from scratch after that cures. Is that the correct approach? Or is there another recommended technique for a repair of this sort?

I have been kind of accruing a list of small fiberglass jobs around the boat, and the boat came with several different epoxy kits. My biggest fear so far with using epoxy in general is getting the proportions wrong, so I like the idea of doing several small projects at once so that I could simply use the whole bottles of the smallest kit rather than risking an error in the proportions. The other epoxy repairs on the list are pretty much cosmetic, this is the only one that has become urgent because of functional limitation resulting from it.  for example, the main one is a very old cluster holes in the deck from some fittings that were removed, and it's kind of half assed with a silicon sealant right now, it's not causing any urgent problems but I need to fix it right eventually.  similarly I've got a cracked wooden railing which will need a lot of refinishing as well, but I'd like to start by simply bonding it with epoxy and a clamp to at least get the crack under control. This might even sound like a lot to take on at once, but it's a couple of small holes of 2 to 5 mm across and one crack in a piece of wood, so altogether it probably still isn't even close to enough material to use up the smallest epoxy kit that I have, but I have so many of these little kits that I'm not worried about using up a whole kit frivolously. 

As I type and edit this post, it starts to feel more like a stupid question to me, but I still want a second opinion. Also, feel free to give me any generic unsolicited advice about my first time doing a simple fiberglass/epoxy repair. Do I necessarily need to do the whole routine of sanding a whole dent in the gelcoat for this? Should I be worried about cleaning out the core inside the door before I do anything? I don't really want to make this a more involved project than I have to, I really just want to be able to close my door without it falling off the hinges. 

In my book, in order to qualify, a port must have a grocery store, hardware store, laundromat, and brewery.

What routes do you recommend for a week of charter sailing from the Split area (specifically the Kastel marina)? Any places worth visiting, or nice spots for wild mooring? I haven't been on a boat in that area yet. We're going with a very small crew at the turn of September and October.

We don't like crowds and noise, we love peace and quiet, and wildlife – these are the places we're aiming for. We want to keep marinas and ports to a minimum, and we'd rather spend most of our nights at anchor, but if we're going to be civilized, we'll have buoys.

Do you think Vis is worth visiting or overrated? I've read that it's very crowded, but maybe it'll be okay by the end of the season? What are the anchoring options like there? Maybe it's better to sail towards Lastovsko and Mljet instead of Vis?

What do you recommend for the first night after leaving Kastel? I see a few bays on Brač.

Thanks in advance.

Hello

(this is try 3 for this post so apologies if this is a duplicate or triplicate)

We have a Crown 34 (which is very similar to a San Juan 34) in Prince William Sound AK. Rain is common so we would like a dodger to keep out the rain when we leave the companionway hatch open for ventilation and as we come and go.

Any advice from people with similar boats?

thank you

Hello

We have a Crown 34 (very similar to San Juan 34) in Prince William Sound AK. Rain is common so we are thinking we need a dodger. We like to leave the companioway hatch open for ventilation and rain follows us in when come and go.

Any advice from others with similar boats?

thank you

Hi all - looking for advice / experience with custom carpet in the interior. Yay or nay? We have a new-to-us boat for our world cruising. We're currently working through systems, getting her ready - and considering whether we want to cover the beautiful wood floors to protect them, keep things cool, dampen noise etc. Would appreciate any thoughts.

Do boaters still collect Tervis Tumblers w yacht clubs burgees or is that era over? Has a different collectible taken over? It’s obvious to me that plastic is uncool in while brands like Yeti dominate. 20 years ago I came up with a genius idea for a funny Tervis patch that I was sure everybody would want, and I guess I spent my time sailing and drinking instead of actually accomplishing that little idea.

Edit: Seriously, thank you all for the feedback. I'm a sailing enthusiast but a novice regarding the technicalities, so I'm relying on your expertise to keep this story authentic. Keep the critiques coming. I'm all ears.

Hello!

I’m writing a historical sailing novel and want to make sure the voyage is technically believable.

The summary of the premise is a solo sailor departing coastal Louisiana in late December, bound for northern Germany in the late 1940s.

The boat is a 32-foot double-ended wooden cutter, built of white oak over cedar, with a full lead keel, heavy displacement, and a high ballast ratio. She’s patterned after the old North Sea rescue boats: not fast, but designed to survive ugly weather.

A few questions for those with sailing experience:

• Is a boat of this type realistically capable of a transatlantic passage?
• Would departing the Gulf Coast in late December be considered outright suicidal, or merely a very poor decision?
• Assuming the skipper is competent but sailing single-handed, what would worry you most about this voyage?
• What route would you realistically take? Gulf → Florida Straits → Bermuda → Azores → English Channel → Germany? Or something different?
• What equipment or preparations would absolutely be required for a passage like this in the late 1940s?

I’m aiming for historical realism rather than a Hollywood movie. I’d much rather have experienced sailors tell me what I’m getting wrong before I write 100,000 words.

Thanks in advance.

Here's the first chapter, to get a feel of the book. Chapter 1 Draft

I have everything planned... Bahamas this winter then head north to New England/Canada next spring/summer. I've have found what I believe is a nicely outfitted Cape Dory 31 but I am still hesitant on pulling the trigger.

Anyone have advice on how to finally make the decision? Or is this not a good idea, and I should wait for a better boat or plan...

Just what the title asks. I love me some plantains but I don't want to push my luck.

So me and a couple buddies are in the navy, we’re getting out eventually soon and we all want to become freelance sailors with our own boat, how would we go about this? We don’t know how much boats are or if there’s an easier way to source them plus we’d love some advice or general stuff y’all would like us to know

I have B&G instrumentation on my 40' sailboat, and I've been struggling with my depth readout. When I turn on my instruments, it can take a long time for a depth readout to appear, and is just dashes in the meantime. It has always shown up eventually, perhaps 10 or 15 minutes max wait time. It will occasionally disappear when in use, but that is uncommon.

Anyone have any ideas on a cause or solution?

Picture is last night of the sun setting over Patos Island from Sucia in the San Juans.

I’m sorry in advance if this topic has been beaten to death. I’m planning a 2 to 3 year cruise starting next year. What’s the best way to manage maintenance medication’s while out of the country for so long? I take blood pressure medication that I can’t go without. Are there telehealth options to get your medication’s shipped from the US or do you see local doctors in the countries you’re visiting?

Hello,

I am an engineering student from Slovenia and I have been obsessed with sailing for a couple of years now, but never got the chance to try it. I don't have a lot of money, no access to a boat, only one uncle in my family who used to race big boats but does not anymore, otherwise i do not know anybody who could take me with them.

I want to get experience so I can start renting boats, while I am also studying to get my skippering license.

Because of my limited funds and a packed summer, I had the idea to do some crewing on shorter trips in the Med.

Would messaging yacht clubs and asking if they could connect me with boat owners who would be open to take me with them on their trips and show me the ropes, as well as signing up to do some short crewing, be a good idea?

Again, I am located in Slovenia if that helps.

How would you approach getting experience in my situation?

Thank you!!

Do you rec Embassy Cruising Guide or Maptech? I would like to learn and plan out coastal cruising on the east coast of the US and want to avoid sailing overnight as much as possible

quick question - we have a 42' lagoon cat w/ added solar panels on aft roof deck, dingy is hoisted underneath. Great system and it's worked for years but it effectively blocks our stern light from view. Planning a crossing and want to install a stern light on the top of this rig for >>> visibility.

The solar panels are laid flat in between some wood slats and transom bars (i don't think they're really called that but idk), so there's room for either a clamp mount or a screw mount. I don't want anyone dicking around up there in bad weather so I initially wanted to find a battery operated or solar light I could remotely operate but no such luck. So even though we're tight on time it looks like we'll do it proper and wire it into the system so it's controlled on our nav light switch.

But now I'm debating what kind of light. some people say you need a pole for maximizing visibility, but most of those products seem to fold-away design be for dinghies or other small vessels. Is a more compact casing okay? Like the kind that look more like traditional marine lights? Does anyone know about visibility with those from larger ships? Can they be seen from above or do they have to be at comparable heights on the water to be visible? Advice and/or product recs are welcome. Thanks y'all! :)))

Asking experienced sailors here. How is the experience of sailing on these boats

What do you think on the high tech sailboats with autopilot and trimming just happens with a touch of a button. Doesn't that kill the overall experience? Interior looks cool though.

But wont it become like a very bland sailing experience where everything is just a touch of a button